Chapter 14
Emma
T he one day I wasn’t actively looking for Luke at the Tropican to talk to him, he approached me . Oh, the irony. Right now, with a Marchese spy lurking after me, I didn’t have any time of irony. All I had time for today while Krista napped after a night of drinking wine in her condo was hiding.
I first noticed this spy near the pool, so I hid in my condo as long as I could. I didn’t have anything to eat, though, so I headed out to the restaurant to pick up takeout. That was my second spotting. Walking in a circling path, I felt confident that I lost him, but when I reached my condo, I noticed him hiding behind a tree, likely waiting for me to return to ambush me.
I tried to stay out in the common areas of the resort all day, figuring the spy would leave, but he hadn’t it was almost dusk, and that asshole was still here.
It paid to be led to a hiding spot by someone who worked here. A lot more worker buildings stood at the back of the property, and it was through here that Luke finally slowed us down from jogging away in a confusing, twisting route around hedges, paths, and garden beds.
Dropping into a walk, he glanced back from where we’d come from.
“Who are you hiding from?”
“Someone.”
He released my hand but shot me a hard look that suggested I think twice about fucking with him or resorting to sarcasm.
I couldn’t tell him the truth, though. Explaining that I belonged to the mafia was a last-ditch thing to do. I didn’t want him to judge me or to look at me through a different light. It was a prejudice I didn’t deserve. I never chose to be a member of the Giordino family. I was born into it and was expected to serve as a full-blood member. To serve by sacrificing myself in a marriage I didn’t choose or want at all.
“Does this have something to do with those men who tried to force you out of the club with them?”
Yes. “No.” I cleared my throat, hating the taste of the falsehood burning on my tongue. I didn’t want to lie to him, but the less he knew, the better. For me and him. I couldn’t help but be selfish. If he was aware of the danger of protecting me, he would walk away now and never come back. I wasn’t ready for him to cut me out of his life like that.
“Sort of,” I amended after a moment.
He paused to glance at me. Seeming to listen for anyone else in this maintenance area, he held up a hand for me to stay still.
“What do you mean, sort of?” he whispered after he deemed the coast was clear. He guided me around a row of lawnmowers, trekking closer to the garage of gardening equipment.
“It’s similar,” I said, trying to be evasive. “That night, some men were interested in me. I was not interested in them. Ergo, conflict followed.”
“How eloquent,” he quipped.
“And this guy following me here...” I dared a look over my shoulder. Not watching where I was walking caused me to step right into another piece of landscape machinery. Metal clanged and a ruckus sounded.
He mouthed a curse, hurrying to catch the machine before it toppled into another. So much for my attempt at stealth.
We didn’t speak, listening for anyone coming. I didn’t hear anything, but he seemed to think he did. He grabbed my hand, wrapping his warm, calloused fingers around mine. Then we were off again, sneaking further through the gardening area.
The Tropican had numerous garden beds and floral displays. My father invested in this property and it was a cash cow. I wasn’t surprised that they needed this much equipment and resources to keep the place looking pristine and lush, but right now, as Luke led me further back to hide, I appreciated how much stuff was back here to hide behind.
“This guy who’s following you...” he prompted again.
All I could focus on was the heat of his hand not letting go of mine. It was such a simple, basic touch, but it suggested such a bigger concept—security. I was secure with him, more than I’d ever felt with anyone in the Giordino organization. Time and time again, Luke stepped up to the challenge of seeing to my safety at the same time he’d let me make my own decisions.
He could never know what a gift that was for me. Just meeting him proved to be a big part of that “living my life” goal.
He squeezed my fingers, and I was jarred back to the present.
“Who is that man?”
“Someone who wants to find me.”
He whirled me around. I smacked into his hard chest and held my breath as he glared down at me.
“Stop talking in riddles.”
I shook my head. “I’m not.”
He clenched his jaw. “Fine. Why does he want to find you?”
“Because of someone we know.”
Once more, he stiffened. He was alert to something. My heart hammered too fast for me to clue in to what was coming our way. This close to him, I was overwhelmed by his hard body, so firm against mine. His chest pushed against me as he stayed quiet, and I fought this ridiculous, ill-opportune moment of lust that flared hotter.
But over his shoulder, I spotted the spy. He darted between smaller sheds, and I sucked in a breath.
Still holding Luke’s hand, I turned and ran. He didn’t need me to explain. He got the message. Danger was coming. He took over, changing our direction a few more times.
Instead of walking through the rows of maintenance equipment, he led me into a conservatory. It seemed like one, smaller but still domed and housing plants. The bottom of the walls were open, likely to better circulate air, and the windows and doors prevented it from actually being a whole structure. Behind the thick beams supported the rounded roof, Luke blocked us from sight of anyone walking by.
“Trust me,” Luke started slowly.
I want to. So, so fucking bad, Luke. I wished I could trust him.
“I understand how someone could be interested in someone like you.”
I narrowed my eyes, wondering it that was a backhanded compliment, such that he wasn’t interested in me. He’d be the liar between us if he dared to say that.
“But in what?” He lowered his gaze to look me over.
“Just...the usual.” I shrugged, hating that I couldn’t trust him, not with this. I couldn’t fess up and tell him that this man was a spy for the cruel, creepy sadist who planned to own me soon. I couldn’t begin to extrapolate on the finer details of what an arranged marriage entailed in my world.
“The usual,” he said, deadpan.
“He thinks I’m an easy piece of ass and he wants some.” That part might not be a lie. Based on what those Marchese men said in the club, Antonio might be giving his favorite men pep talks about all of them having access to me when I was his wife.
I shivered at the terrifying thought. The chill that swept through me couldn’t be helped.
The sound of footsteps crept closer. They crunched over dead leaves and other debris. Twigs and plant parts that had been shed on the ground from the last pruning.
He had to be right outside. So close.
Luke pressed up against me, blocking me with his body should anyone walk in here. With his broad shoulders, it would almost work, but I couldn’t be so cruel to let him get hurt again on my account. He remained facing out at the windows, though, and with a slight lean to the side, he kept a lookout.
When the steps passed by, going further from this domed shelter, I breathed easier.
“You liar,” he seethed quietly.
I frowned at him, unnerved by how he could guess that I hadn’t been telling the truth. Which part did he suspect I’d made up? All of it?
“He’s not looking for a piece of ass.”
He might be, depending on what Antonio told him. What I knew for certain was that this spy could be sent here to drag me to his boss.
“He’s packing.” Luke narrowed his eyes at me. “I saw a gun hiding at his ankle.” He didn’t step back, but he leaned to rub his hand over his face. I hated that I’d aggravated him—again.
“What the fuck are you mixed up with?” he asked.
“I...” I shook my head. “I didn’t know he’d have a gun,” I lied
“I knew you were trouble.”
I pursed my lips, hating that he could only see me as an inconvenience. “Then back up. Go.”
His brows slanted in. “You’re telling me to get lost now?”
“How do you like it?” I taunted.
He opened and closed his mouth, then stepped back to press me close when the man returned. Not one, but two now.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck! Antonio really wanted to find me if he sent two spies to hunt me down. I had zero doubt that my father told Antonio that I was staying at the Tropican. I supposed after a couple of weeks of not being able to stalk me and follow me, he had to be dying with the urge to catch up now.
Sandwiched between the unrelenting metal beam and the harder surface of Luke’s body flush to mine, I felt wedged in place with nowhere to go. It should’ve been a claustrophobic sensation, this inability to get away, but I didn’t want to. The longer I stood here, I fell under the spell of his proximity. His cologne, so spicy yet clean. Despite a whole day of working, he smelled delicious, that tart musk of masculinity with the sharp note of soap, too. Clean but dirty at the same time.
My thoughts veered toward the naughty end of things. If I arched my back a little, would he notice the difference of pressure of my breasts rubbing against him. If I spread my legs a little further apart, would he put his leg forward to give me some friction?
Staring up at his rugged face, I wondered if he could read me so well to know what I was thinking. I sighed, envisioning how he’d react if I leaned up to kiss him again. Just once. I dreamed about how it could turn out if I simply put my hand on his cheek and gave myself a chance to feel the stubble growing there.
He was the ultimate bad boy no woman should want. A walking red flag. But he couldn’t be all bad. The fact he defended me and protected me stood out as key reasons he couldn’t be my enemy.
As if on cue, he lowered his head and locked his eyes on mine. I lost myself in the darkness of his stare. That liquid brown, swirling with such carnal heat. This smoldering look was awfully potent, and if he didn’t intend to act on the vibe he was projecting, I swore my soul would wither and rot.
I slid my gaze to his mouth. His lips remained pressed together firmly, but with my focus there, I noticed how his nostrils flared.
Ever so slightly, I lifted my face to his. His hands stayed where there were, placed on my sides, but it seemed like he gripped me harder, putting more pressure on my skin as though he was tormented with the urge to move them. To explore.
It was wrong. I had no business wanting to kiss him, to feel his scowling lips against mine.
But I did. I was tugged closer, tethered on an invisible string to make forbidden contact. To drown in the hot bliss of this connection stemming between us.
Desire thrummed through me, chasing away the fears of being caught by Antonio’s spies.
All I could focus on was the lure of this man’s presence, so tall and foreboding, a bulwark of power.
I reached up, yearning for his mouth on mine. The faintest shift up had him clutching me tighter, as though he had to ground himself somehow. He breathed faster as his eyes darkened with lust. Just a little more. I swallowed hard, overwhelmed with the tension coiling tighter and more twisted.
Higher. Closer. I leaned up to him so slowly that I gave myself numerous chances to back up and not do this. To think twice. To reconsider.
He groaned. It was a gruff rumble, barely audible but felt through the flush contact of our chests pressed together. Then he lowered, tilting his head to the side as he covered my mouth with his.